Fluent in Urdu, Pashto, Hindi, English, and Persian, she is also a prolific translator of classical and contemporary Persian literature into Hindi and has edited and translated a voluminous corpus of writings from Asia and Africa, published in six volumes. Sharma became the first Muslim to be awarded the Sahitya Akademi award in 2016 when she was recognized for her magisterial novel Parijaat. She also received the esteemed Vyas Samman Award in 2019 for her novel Kaghaz ki Naav. Much of her work has been produced for radio and television. She lives in New Delhi.